On Sept. 18, 1983, 30 years ago today, the band Kiss – in a promotional stunt for its new album “Lick It Up,” on the fledgling station MTV – appeared in public, officially, sans makeup.

Of course, by then, the ‘70s monsters of rock and merchandising were not what they had been. You wanted the best? In fact, at the unmasking and on the album, you instead got Vinnie Vincent instead of Ace Frehley on guitar, and Eric Carr instead of Peter Criss (who, incidentally, was just in New Orleans at the Mad Monster Party Gras horror convention last weekend) on drums.

Still, the album went platinum, and Kiss, as always, endured. (If you’d like to read about it, the four original members of Kiss – Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss – have each written autobiographies.)

For our midday music break, let’s remember Kiss at its best – while the original band was still intact, and the makeup still on. Here's a video to get you in the mood for Halloween: